Den of Vipers

Vipers are a recurring motif within the narrative that loosely supports all three overarching themes: The Relationship Between Emotional Fragility and Immoral Acts, Catharsis in Violence, and The Impact of Personalized Justice. The image of the viper is first introduced as a private symbol in the form of Ryder, Kenzo, Diesel, and Garrett’s adoptive name, wherein it comes to symbolize their brotherhood and their individual struggles with grief, pain, trauma, and family. It also translates their vulnerabilities as Ryder claimed that he felt a kinship with snakes who, when “back[ed] […] into a corner, […] are more dangerous than anything” (280), thus revealing how he and the other Vipers had always felt threatened and needed to feel strong. To the public, however, both the name “Viper” and the symbol of the snake became synonymous with Ryder and the others’ crime family; their habit of playing judge, jury, and executioner with anyone who sought to oppose them; their wealth and power; and the criminal underworld of the city at large. For Roxy, the viper motif becomes an image of her own transformation, as she often uses terminology associated with vipers, such as venom, to describe her slow evolution into becoming what she calls the “Vipers’ girl” (272). After she chooses to remain with the Vipers, the snake motif becomes as much of a rallying symbol for her as it does for Ryder and the others.

Scars and tattoos are a recurring symbol in the novel that support the overarching theme of The Relationship Between Emotional Fragility and Immoral Acts. For both Roxy and Garrett, their respective scars are visual symbols of the abuse they experienced at the hands of their loved ones. Though Roxy has come to terms with her scars, Garrett feels the burden of shame for the ones on his chest, as he believes they mark him as a weak man who nearly died for trusting the wrong woman and greatly affect his self-esteem. Until Roxy, Garrett’s scars were one of the reasons he could no longer be intimate with women. With Diesel and Roxy’s intervention, however, Garrett’s scars become a symbol of his evolution, his survival, and his strength in overcoming his near-death experience with Daphne. For Roxy and the Vipers in general, tattoos are seen as a way to assert one’s individuality and ownership of self in defiance of overbearing authority. For Ryder, especially, whose manicured appearance makes him out as the perfect businessman, his concealed tattoos are a marker of differentiation and rebellion against his father, who sought to mold him to his image. As Kenzo observes, “He looks so much like our father it’s scary, apart from the tattoos. Father would never have sullied his body with ink, said it was the mark of the poor” (443). Thus, visually, K. A. Knight implies that though Ryder might externally appear to act and behave like his father’s son, privately he could not be more different. Lastly, the tattoos are also a symbol of the Vipers’ brotherhood, as they all collectively bear snake tattoos typically made by Garrett, with the exception of Garrett’s chest tattoo. Though some of them may not share blood, they do share the same ink on their skin.